SOLO Skype Phone Coming to U.S.

Consumers in the market for a VoIP phone, specifically a Skype-oriented
one, will have a new model to consider next Tuesday when IPEVO begins
selling its SOLO phone.

The SOLO is a standalone, desktop corded phone that
allows you to make Skype voice calls without a computer. With Skype software
pre-installed, the company said the device is designed to let new users make
calls right away with minimal setup.

Ed Lucero, vice president and general manager of IPEVO North America,
said customers will be able to set up a Skype account when they order the
phone at the company's Web site or via a
phone order so calls can be made once the device is plugged into any
Internet broadband connection.

The SOLO comes with a 90-minute SkypeOut
voucher and supports Skype-to-Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut and Skype Voicemail
features. Per usual, calls to other Skype users are free and low cost rates
to mobile and landline phones are available worldwide.

IPVEO SOLOSource: IPEVO

The SOLO faces plenty of competitors in the VoIP and Skype-related phone
market, including the likes of Cisco (Linksys), Philips, Netgear and Belkin.
But Lucero thinks IPEVO brings a better design sense than some of its
more-entrenched competitors and a certain degree of insider's knowledge.

"We're probably the only hardware maker that's also been a Skype service
provider," Lucero told InternetNews.com. The San Jose, Calif.-based
IPEVO was spun off from the Taiwan-based PC Home, which sells and supports
the SOLO there as well as other Skype-related hardware.

Specific features of the $169.99 SOLO include: a one-click speakerphone
function for hands-free talking; LED indications for power on/off; missed
call, message; mute and speakerphone mode; memory keys for speed dials and a
2.4-inch TFT color LCD display with adjustable viewing angle. IPEVO said the
phone is FCC, CE, VCCI, and RoHS compliant.

Lucero indicated the SOLO will be the first of other models and
peripheral gears the company has planned. There is already a wireless model
in Taiwan. "We started with a corded model for voice quality," he said.
Later this year, IPEVO plans to offer a Webcam that can be used for video
calls and a "snapshot" feature for sending still images to whomever you're
talking to at the click of a button.

As for its larger competitors, Lucero is optimistic IPEVO will find its
niche. "Hopefully the fact that these big companies are jumping in says
something about the growth of the market," he said. "They'll evangelize the
benefits of Skype and the market will grow which is great for us because I
think we have a better product."

Skype claims an enormous number of users, over 200 million worldwide, but it
has not
lived up to the high expectations eBay had when it bought
the company two years ago for a whopping $2.6 billion.

On Monday, eBay said
it would eat about $1.4 billion in third-quarter charges to wrap up its
Skype acquisition and establish a more realistic valuation for the Internet
VoIP provider's long-term prospects.